what kind of birth control are you on? is it possible to minimize your bleeding by not having a gap week or similar?

the biggest danger is infecting the cup and reinfecting yourself because of this. some companies even say you should get a new cup in this situation. and you need to clean your cup carefully regardless of whether you'll continue using it later. i'd say boil daily as long as you have symptoms, and maybe after that until your period ends. then if you'd like to continue using the same cup look into some other cleaning methods in addition to boiling, just to make sure.
watch the smells carefully and try to empty it every 6-8 h (if you need to empty it more often, make sure there's no irritation and consider waiting a little before reinserting)

the two additional risks are that the treatment gets less effective or the cup gets damaged (less of an issue if you eventually dump it once the infection is gone). when it comes to effectiveness, well first of all if you have any irritation on your cervix, the cup will prevent it from getting exposed to the medicine.
also how large are your cup's holes and how many does it have? (if it has none idk if that's a good idea)

how soon is the gel supposed to dissolve? i understand if you're reluctant, but it would be good to check cautiously with a clean finger in order to know if there's any residue left. in fact, IF all other factors allow it, maybe it would be best to use the treatment while your cup is inside. however there would have to be minimal or no residue left by the time you reinsert, so this only makes sense if it dissolves pretty fast. (also how long is your vagina? is there some space left below the cup or does it fill most of the length?) silicone is inert so it *might* be okay to put some gel on the rim and outer walls. maybe not, depending also on the ingredients.


regular pads are awful but consider getting some cloth pads or even postpartum pads.

i am actually issuing nexplanon, it's the implant that goes in your arm so I can't really help that. I understand the reinfection, it totally makes sense. Do you have any other suggestions on how to clean it other than boiling? I'm not sure if I have any irritation at my cervix at all really but my doc says I may have had it for years so I would assume so. I have no idea how long it takes for the gel to dissolve, but I do know that it doesn't leak out as I thought it would but I'm not sure if that's because it's a hell or not? Actually the entire cup fits comfortably in my vagina so the length of it shouldn't be a problem. Also I've never heard of postpartum pads, but I don't like the blood.. everywhere.. it makes me feel like I need a shower every five minutes so I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

Sorry if it's a gel or not, not if it's a hell

haha i wondered about that :D

check the cleaning tags on the right. btw, vinegar is also a common home remedy for restoring the pH. after taking antibiotics i actually noticed that my cup would stink more easily, so i rinsed it with vinegar both on the outside and the inside, and inserted it just like that. this helped i think.

yeah most people's cups fit fully inside the vagina, but since the cup sits around the cervix, for some people the base of the cup is not far from the opening and others have to bear down before they can feel the cup at all. in the latter scenario the medicine would be absorbed better because there's some space where the cup is not interfering at all.

look up your gel online, there should be info on how soon it dissolves.

I've never navigated BV and cup use at the same time, but having 2-week periods while on BC doesn't seem normal. Is something else going on?

Nothing that I know of, I guess just the type of bc I use (nexplanon).

Using the gel twice a week for four months? That sounds like treatment for recurrent bv. Or a mistake. If it's recurrent, changing out your cup might be in order anyway. You could try disposable cups while you treat the infection. I think instead is the only type. Also you could ask for an oral med. it's pretty hard to use vaginal Meds while on your period.

I think your long period may be contributing to the bv. Only you can decide if that result of your birth control is worth it. This would be a bigger issue if your bv is recurrent as I know it's no small decision to remove your implant.

Well I had it once and was treated taking oral pills and it didn't fix it and I've had the same symptoms since I started puberty (around nine or ten) and I'm eighteen now so she thinks I may have had it for quite a few years. That is a very good point, blood has a higher pH than the vagina too right? I'll definitely talk to my doc about that and using disposable cups too.